Privacy Policy

This privacy policy sets out how Hosting Me uses and protects any information that you give Hosting Me when you use this website. Hosting Me is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified when using this website, then you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy statement. Hosting Me may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes.

What information do we collect?

We may collect the following information:

• your name;
• contact information including email address;
• demographic information such as address and/or postcode;
• other information to help answer security questions

What we do with the information we gather

We require this information to understand your needs and provide you with a better service, and in particular for the following reasons:

• Internal record keeping;
• We may use the information provided to send updates regarding your product or service. For example, when it’s time to renew an invoice will be sent via email informing you;
• The information helps us verify your identity when you request support;
• We may use the information to improve our products and services;
• We may periodically send promotional emails about new products, special offers or other information which we think you may find interesting using the email address which you have provided

Security

We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online. These are just a few of the measures in place:

• All areas where data can be sent or received is protected by SSL encryption and our servers are stored in a secure location, with constant monitoring from us and the datacenter;
• We monitor and log unsuccessful login attempts to our servers and if necessary, we will block users/staff we feel have malicious intent. Staff only have access to the data they need perform their job role. Your information is on a need to know basis;
• All users can enable two step verification adding an extra layer of protection to logins. By default, all staff members are required to use two step verification and notify Hosting Me if their trusted device is lost/stolen so we can lock that account;
• Hosting Me will never ask you to send your password to us via email or live chat. We may request you submit a support ticket which has the ability to securely send us your password. We highly recommend once the issue has been resolved, the password is changed

How we use cookies

A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer's hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.

We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about web page traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system. To find out more information you can see Google Analytics or opt-out if you wish.

We also allow users to live chat with us, in real time. To do this, we use a third-party service called Natterly who issue us a code snippet which is placed into our code. This snippet is controlled by Natterly, and we do not control ourselves. The snippet will connect to Natterly to allow us to chat in real time. When requesting a chat, we ask for your name and email address which gets stored with Natterly and allows us to identify and verify your identity. You can find more information about Natterly by visiting their website.

Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website experience and helps us help you in real time. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of our website.

Identifying our cookies

To help you better understand what cookies we store and what they are used for, we have laid this out below:

Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.

Controlling your personal information

You may choose to restrict the collection or use of your personal information in the following ways:

• whenever you are asked to fill in a form on the website, look for the box that you can click to indicate that you do not want the information to be used by anybody for direct marketing purposes;
• if you have previously agreed to us using your personal information for direct marketing purposes, you may change your mind at any time by emailing us at hello@hostingme.co.uk

We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission, are required to do so to make our service work or are required by law to do so. We may use your personal information to send you promotional information about third parties which we think you may find interesting if you tell us that you wish this to happen.

You may request details of personal information which we hold about you under the Data Protection Act 1998. A small fee will be payable. If you would like a copy of the information held on you please email us at hello@hostingme.co.uk

If you believe that any information we are holding on you is incorrect or incomplete, please write to or email us as soon as possible, at the above address. We will promptly correct any information found to be incorrect.

Data Retention

We only keep your data for as long as we need it. If you decide to leave us, your personal information will automatically be removed after 6 years.

Third Party

We use a number of third party services to assist us in providing you the services required. These third partys will have access to some of your data. You can find out more below:

• WHMCS: When users purchase one of our services we record information such as your name, email address, address and telephone number which we use to help verify a users identity when requesting support and to assist in invoicing. The information collected is stored within WHMCS which provides us the ability to automate server provisioning and invoicing. Whilst we do not develop the app, we are constantly monitoring release notes and will update the app to patch any vulnerabilities. We also enforce strict admin login monitoring to ensure only authorised staff can access your data. You can find more information about WHMCS by visiting their website.
• PayPal: We use PayPal for processing payments. Please note, Hosting Me never has full access to your card details, we are only able to view the last 4 digits of the card number.
• Stripe: We use Stripe for processing card payments and ApplePay transactions. Please note, Hosting Me never has full access to your card details, we are only able to view the last 4 digits of the card number.
• Tidio: To enable live chat on our website, we use a service called Tidio. Tidio takes note of the name entered on our website and also your email address. This is used to send a copy of the chat transcript once you have finished chatting to our team.

Last updated: January 2021